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Truck Rental Customer's Math and Reasoning Failures
So, the Shirts family has moved. We were finally able to buy a house. Last weekend, I rented a truck and hauled our stuff. I went to return the truck on Saturday around noon, and I was treated to one side of a conversation full of Stupid.
Truck Rental Manager was very nice, very professional. I told her I didn't mind waiting while she took the incoming phone call. I can't recreate the whole conversation, but I can approximate what I heard TRM say to the caller.
Customer had rented a 26-foot truck for her move. (I rented a 16-foot, and I hated driving it. Those things are massive compared to my little Plymouth, and I just can't get comfortable with them.) Customer wanted to know how tall the truck was.
TRM: That truck will be either 12-feet six-inches or 12-feet eight-inches, depending on which model you got.
...
TRM: No, it won't fit there.
...
TRM: A 12-foot-six-inch truck will not fit under a bridge with a clearance of 12-feet-two.
...
TRM: No. It's just a couple of inches too tall.
...
TRM: Yes, I'm sure.
Then came some other question I didn't quite catch, but TRM's eyeroll was enough to tell me it was not even close to intelligent.
Finally, TRM seemed to have a small epiphany.
TRM: Wait, you're not going toward the River Road bridge, are you?
...
TRM: I would suggest you find a different route. Take the Marion bridge instead.
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TRM: Because the road to the bridge you want to take has a lot of steep hills, both up and down, a lot of hairpin curves, some blind curves, and even a few blind, hairpin curves ON steep hills!
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TRM: You're driving a 26-foot truck. On that road, you'll have to take up both lanes to make a turn wide enough. And just pray nobody's coming because they might not see you in time to stop.
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TRM: I really think you should take the other bridge.
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TRM: No, I'm not trying to scare you into buying extra ins... Did I SAY anything about buying insurance for the truck?
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TRM: No, it's up to you, but I think it's a bad idea. There's a reason you never see a semi on that road.
...
TRM: [deadpan] All right, then. I'll see you with the truck tomorrow. If you don't get it stuck or get into a crash before then.
And she hung up. I didn't ask for details. I did say, that I didn't even like taking my car on that road unless the weather was nice and I wasn't in a hurry to get anywhere. She agreed, then told me that she wasn't looking forward to the rest of her afternoon because some guy had hauled some caged chickens in the cab of another truck and didn't bother to clean up after them.
By the way, if you want to know where this customer wanted to drive her 26-foot truck, ask Google Maps how to get from "Skyline Road South, Salem, OR to Independence, OR".
Truck Rental Manager was very nice, very professional. I told her I didn't mind waiting while she took the incoming phone call. I can't recreate the whole conversation, but I can approximate what I heard TRM say to the caller.
Customer had rented a 26-foot truck for her move. (I rented a 16-foot, and I hated driving it. Those things are massive compared to my little Plymouth, and I just can't get comfortable with them.) Customer wanted to know how tall the truck was.
TRM: That truck will be either 12-feet six-inches or 12-feet eight-inches, depending on which model you got.
...
TRM: No, it won't fit there.
...
TRM: A 12-foot-six-inch truck will not fit under a bridge with a clearance of 12-feet-two.
...
TRM: No. It's just a couple of inches too tall.
...
TRM: Yes, I'm sure.
Then came some other question I didn't quite catch, but TRM's eyeroll was enough to tell me it was not even close to intelligent.
Finally, TRM seemed to have a small epiphany.
TRM: Wait, you're not going toward the River Road bridge, are you?
...
TRM: I would suggest you find a different route. Take the Marion bridge instead.
...
TRM: Because the road to the bridge you want to take has a lot of steep hills, both up and down, a lot of hairpin curves, some blind curves, and even a few blind, hairpin curves ON steep hills!
...
TRM: You're driving a 26-foot truck. On that road, you'll have to take up both lanes to make a turn wide enough. And just pray nobody's coming because they might not see you in time to stop.
...
TRM: I really think you should take the other bridge.
...
TRM: No, I'm not trying to scare you into buying extra ins... Did I SAY anything about buying insurance for the truck?
...
TRM: No, it's up to you, but I think it's a bad idea. There's a reason you never see a semi on that road.
...
TRM: [deadpan] All right, then. I'll see you with the truck tomorrow. If you don't get it stuck or get into a crash before then.
And she hung up. I didn't ask for details. I did say, that I didn't even like taking my car on that road unless the weather was nice and I wasn't in a hurry to get anywhere. She agreed, then told me that she wasn't looking forward to the rest of her afternoon because some guy had hauled some caged chickens in the cab of another truck and didn't bother to clean up after them.
By the way, if you want to know where this customer wanted to drive her 26-foot truck, ask Google Maps how to get from "Skyline Road South, Salem, OR to Independence, OR".
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